Using analytical models to inform policy decisions

ABSTRACT

The power of analytical modeling is added to existing methods for specifying policies. Generally speaking, humans use their knowledge and experience to draft policies at a relatively high level. These policies then incorporate analytical models which provide the intelligence on how to most effectively apply the high-level policy to a particular situation. When a policy is invoked, the analytical model provides up-to-date intelligence at a level of completeness and refinement not possible with previous techniques. As a result, fewer policies need to be drafted, and those few need to be updated less frequently than in previous schemes. Rather than updating the policy itself, the analytical model is automatically updated whenever new data are fed into it. As the analytical model incorporates new observational data, it grows more powerful and thus automatically increases the effectiveness of the high-level policy.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is related generally to computerized managementsystems and, more particularly, to policy-based management.

BACKGROUND

Commercial enterprises implement policies that embody decisions abouthow corporate assets should be managed. For example, a policyimplemented by a video provider says that a particular video will beavailable for online rental only for the next two months. The purpose ofsuch a policy (rather than a much simpler policy that says, for example,that all videos are available for rental at all times) is to maximizerental income while decreasing the resources that would be needed if allvideos were made available at all times. (It is expected that someconsumers will respond to the limited rental window by renting the videowhen it is available rather than waiting and running the risk that thevideo would not be available at a later time.)

The simplicity of the above example obscures the fact a corporation mayhave very many assets and that a specific policy may need to beimplemented for each one. To extend the above example, while a singlerental-window policy could be implemented for all videos, in reality thevideos and their expected markets are all different, which means that,perhaps, each one should have a rental-window policy specific to it.

These asset-specific policies are often written by human experts whoreview the corporate assets and their commercial context and then craftan asset-specific policy to implement the corporation's goals. Having apolicy specific to each asset can lead to increased efficiency andprofits as each asset is treated in the manner most appropriate to it.

However, this specificity places a great burden on the human experts andincreases the possibility of human error. To address these issues, somepolicies are drafted to depend upon variables that attempt to accountfor differences among assets and for their changing contexts, butkeeping these context-aware policies up-to-date conflicts with the goalof making them as flexible as possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

While the appended claims set forth the features of the presenttechniques with particularity, these techniques, together with theirobjects and advantages, may be best understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsof which:

FIG. 1 is an overview of a representative environment in which thepresent techniques may be practiced;

FIG. 2 is a generalized schematic of some of the devices shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a representational method for invoking a policybased on an analytical model; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a representational method for creating a policybased on an analytical model.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likeelements, techniques of the present disclosure are illustrated as beingimplemented in a suitable environment. The following description isbased on embodiments of the claims and should not be taken as limitingthe claims with regard to alternative embodiments that are notexplicitly described herein.

The power of analytical modeling is added to existing methods forspecifying policies. Generally speaking, humans use their knowledge andexperience to draft policies at a relatively high level. These policiesthen incorporate analytical models which provide the intelligence on howto most effectively apply the high-level policy to a particularsituation. When a policy is invoked, the analytical model providesup-to-date intelligence at a level of completeness and refinement notpossible with previous techniques. As a result, fewer policies need tobe drafted, and those few need to be updated less frequently than inprevious schemes. Rather than updating the policy itself, the analyticalmodel is automatically updated whenever new data are fed into it. As theanalytical model incorporates new observational data, it grows morepowerful and thus automatically increases the effectiveness of thehigh-level policy.

To understand these concepts more fully, first consider therepresentative communications environment 100 of FIG. 1. Connectedtogether via any or all of various known networking technologies 102 aremedia-content servers 104 (e.g., television-programming servers, webservers, and the like), a policy server (or “policy engine”) 106, and anadministrative server 108. (The functions of these servers 104, 106, 108are discussed below.) Some of the media-content servers 104 may head-enda cable-television delivery system 112. For ease of illustration, onlythree servers 104, 106, 108 are shown, but numerous servers 104, 106,108 can exist and can work together, as discussed below.

In an actual implementation of the communications environment 100, thefunctions of the servers 104, 106, 108 may all reside on one computingplatform, may be hosted separately on separate servers (as depicted inFIG. 1), or may each be spread out among several computing platforms.Indeed, at least some aspects of these functions may be embodied on anynumber of computing devices including the set-top box 114, a personalcommunications device, the television 116, the mobile telephone 110, apersonal digital assistant, the personal computer 118, a tabletcomputer, a gaming console, a media-restreaming device, and a pluralityof servers. Also according to aspects of the present disclosure, when apolicy runs on the policy server 106, it may invoke an analytical modelwhich may be instantiated and run on the same policy server 106 orelsewhere. Rather than mentioning these implementation possibilitiesagain, the present discussion refers to these functions as if they werehosted on disparate servers 104, 106, 108, as shown in FIG. 1.

Head-end servers 104 provide, via the networking technologies 102,media-download and television services to end-user devices. Non-wirelessend-user devices are supported by “wireline” network technologies (e.g.,fiber, wire, and cable) 112. For example, a set-top box 114 generallyreceives television programming from a head-end server 104 and providesa user interface (e.g., an interactive program guide) for selecting andviewing content from the head-end server 104. A digital video recorder(not shown) can store programming for later viewing. The video contentmay be viewed on a television monitor 116. In some situations, a laptopcomputer 118 accesses web-based services either wirelessly or via thewireline network 112. A gaming console, home gateway, kiosk, digitalsign, or media-restreaming device (not shown) are other possibleend-user devices. Options for connecting these devices and services arewell known in the art and need not be further discussed.

(A media-restreaming device transfers content between disparate types ofnetworks. For example, it receives content from the cable system 112 andthen transmits that content over a local radio link such as WiFi to asmartphone 110. The media-restreaming device usually operates in bothdirections to carry messages between the networks. In some embodiments,aspects of the present invention are practiced by a media-restreamingdevice.)

Television programming (and other media content) can also be deliveredto non-traditional subscriber devices such as the smartphone 110. Thissmartphone 110 communicates wirelessly to a wireless base station (notshown but known in the art) to access the public switched telephonenetwork, the Internet, or other networks to access web-based services aswell as the television-delivery services provided by the media-contentproviders 104.

Wireless and wireline network technologies generally support two-waytraffic: Media content and related information are delivered to theend-user devices 110, 114, 116, 118, and requests and other informationgo “up” to the servers 104, 106, 108.

It is well known that entities providing media content may implementpolicies about how and when that content is made available. One policymay, for example, set one price to download a movie in standarddefinition and set another price for downloading a high-definitionversion of the same movie. Another policy may set a price discount forpremium subscribers. Yet another policy may state that a media contentitem will only be available for viewing during the next week. Many othertypes of policies are known in the art and each type may, or may not, beappropriately applied to each media content item or to each family ofcontent items. In the representative environment 100 of FIG. 1, thesepolicies are hosted by the policy server 106. When policies areimplemented, they may affect the operations of the media-content server104 which may, for example, update an interactive program guide toreflect the policies currently in effect.

New policies may be composed on the administrative server 108 prior tomoving them to the policy server 106 for live implementation.

FIG. 2 shows the major components of a representative media-contentserver 104, policy server 106, administrative server 108, or end-userdevice 110, 114, 116, 118. The computing device of FIG. 2 could even bea plurality of servers working together in a coordinated fashion.

The CPU 200 of the computing device includes one or more processors(i.e., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like) or a processorand memory system which processes computer-executable instructions tocontrol the operation of the device. In particular, the CPU 200 supportsaspects of the present invention as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4,discussed below. The device can be implemented with a combination ofsoftware, hardware, firmware, and fixed-logic circuitry implemented inconnection with processing and control circuits, generally identified at202. Although not shown, the device can include a system bus or datatransfer system that couples the various components within the device. Asystem bus can include any combination of different bus structures, suchas a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a universalserial bus, and a processor or local bus that utilizes any of a varietyof bus architectures.

The computing device also includes one or more memory devices 204 thatenable data storage, examples of which include random-access memory,non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory, flash memory, EPROM, andEEPROM), and a disk storage device. A disk storage device may beimplemented as any type of magnetic or optical storage device, such as ahard disk drive, a recordable or rewriteable disc, any type of a digitalversatile disc, and the like. The device may also include a mass-storagemedia device.

The memory system 204 provides data-storage mechanisms to store devicedata 212, other types of information and data, and various deviceapplications 210. An operating system 206 can be maintained as softwareinstructions within the memory 204 and executed by the CPU 200. Thedevice applications 210 may also include a device manager, such as anyform of a control application or software application. The utilities 208may include a signal-processing and control module, code that is nativeto a particular component of the computing device, ahardware-abstraction layer for a particular component, and so on.

The computing device can also include an audio-processing system 214that processes audio data and controls an audio system 216 (which mayinclude, for example, speakers). A visual-processing system 218processes graphics commands and visual data and controls a displaysystem 220 that can include, for example, a display screen. The audiosystem 216 and the display system 220 may include any devices thatprocess, display, or otherwise render audio, video, display, or imagedata. Display data and audio signals can be communicated to an audiocomponent or to a display component via a radio-frequency link, S-videolink, High-Definition Multimedia Interface, composite-video link,component-video link, Digital Video Interface, analog audio connection,or other similar communication link, represented by the media-data ports222. In some implementations (e.g., the set-top box 114 which drives thetelevision monitor 16), the audio system 216 and the display system 220are components external to the device. Alternatively (e.g., in thecellular telephone 110), these systems 216, 220 are integratedcomponents of the device.

The computing device can include a communications interface whichincludes communication transceivers 224 that enable wired or wirelesscommunication. Example transceivers 224 include Wireless Personal AreaNetwork radios compliant with various IEEE 802.15 standards, WirelessLocal Area Network radios compliant with any of the various IEEE 802.11standards, Wireless Wide Area Network cellular radios compliant with3GPP standards, Wireless Metropolitan Area Network radios compliant withvarious IEEE 802.16 standards, and wired Local Area Network Ethernettransceivers.

The computing device may also include one or more data-input ports 226via which any type of data, media content, or inputs can be received,such as user-selectable inputs (e.g., from a keyboard, from atouch-sensitive input screen, or from another user-input device),messages, music, television content, recorded video content, and anyother type of audio, video, or image data received from any content ordata source. The data-input ports 226 may include USB ports,coaxial-cable ports, and other serial or parallel connectors (includinginternal connectors) for flash memory, storage disks, and the like.These data-input ports 226 may be used to couple the device tocomponents, peripherals, or accessories such as microphones and cameras.

The flowchart of FIG. 3 shows how the policy server 106 implements apolicy. (Recall that, as discussed above, the “policy server” isactually a function that can be hosted on any number of devices. Forclarity's sake, the present discussion assumes that the method of FIG. 3is performed by a single, discrete device 106.)

In step 300, the policy server 106 receives a policy. The policy server106 may store numerous policies that are retrieved when circumstancesdictate. For example, a given policy can be automatically invoked basedon particular timing information (e.g., once per day) or when specificmedia-content items are requested by end-users. Other policies mayinvoked for special situations, e.g., for the duration of a livefootball game or during a holiday. Many options for invoking policiesare known in the art and need not be elaborated on further.

In step 302, the policy is executed. Policies are traditionally statedin terms of rules. In this particular case, the statement of the policycalls for the invocation of an analytical model in addition to therules. The model invocation may be specified by a rule. (In a simplecase, a policy may be written as a single rule that invokes theanalytical model.)

Many possibilities are envisaged for the interaction of the analyticalmodel and the policy. If the analytical model is crafted as afirst-class entity, then known techniques for using first-class entitiescan be applied. Some policies are written using the known triplet ofevent, action, rule. Here, one or more analytical models may serve toinform any or all of the elements of the triplet.

In some situations, invoking the policy may call for the analyticalmodel to be instantiated. In other cases, the invoking may causes theanalytical model to update itself by collecting or processing recentobservations. Generally speaking, invoking the analytical model callsfor an analysis based on the data available to the analytical model atthe time of its invocation. Thus, identical invocations, separated intime, can return different results, as the underlying analytical modelchanges. This illustrates an advantage of using analytical models withinthe policy framework: The policies themselves need not be directlychanged, but they are kept up-to-date by the continuing work of theanalytical models.

Different types of analytical models are contemplated. Some models focuson specific entities, such as an individual consumer of media content,the class of potential consumers, or a sub-group of consumers somehowlinked together, e.g., those within a social network or those sharingsome definable characteristic. Preference statements and behavioralobservations can be collected and associated with the specific entity,and the model can thereby learn the habits of the entity. For example,it may be observed that a particular group of consumers are much lesslikely to pay to view a recorded sporting event a week or more after theevent takes place. The overlying policy can use that observation insetting a price vs. viewing time curve to garner the highest revenue.

Generally speaking, an output determined by the analytical model canserve as an input to a rule of the policy.

In step 304, the policy determines that some action be performed.Policy-based actions are well known. For example, a price fordownloading a particular media content item can be set, a message orrecommendation can be sent to a specific audience, or information may begathered to inform future policy decisions.

In addition, optional step 306 considers the fact that the actionperformed in step 304 may become an observational datapoint consideredby future invocations of the analytical model.

Finally, in optional step 308, the invocation of the policy may causeeither the analytical model or the specifics of the policy itself to beupdated.

FIG. 4 presents a method for composing a policy that relies upon ananalytical model. In step 400, at least one analytical model isspecified. The model may be created for this use, or may be an alreadyexisting model, possibly provided by a commercial entity distinct fromthe entity that runs the policy. For example, one company may collectdemographic information, feed it into an analytical model, and then selloutputs of that model to other companies, such as a media provider thatis interested in the demographics of a set of targeted consumers.

In step 402, rules are developed. Many rules have traditionally beendeveloped by human beings, and they may be very complicated. In somesituations, rules embody specific aspects of a commercial entity'sbusiness model.

The rules and analytical model are joined together in step 404 to createa policy. In a commercial setting, the policy joins, and possibly tradesoff among, different aspects of a business model to form a coherentwhole. The analytical model provides up-to-date information and analysisto inform the implementation of the policy.

The output of the policy is specified in step 406. As discussed above,many types of policy-based actions are known and need not be discussedfurther.

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of thepresent discussion may be applied, it should be recognized that theembodiments described herein with respect to the drawing figures aremeant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting thescope of the claims. Therefore, the techniques as described hereincontemplate all such embodiments as may come within the scope of thefollowing claims and equivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. A method for a policy engine running on a computing deviceto perform an action, the method comprising: receiving, by the policyengine, a policy; executing, by the policy engine, the policy, whereinexecuting the policy comprises invoking an analytical model and invokinga set of rules, the set of rules distinct from the analytical model,wherein the analytical model is updated by collecting and processingrecent innovations affecting changes to the policy without the policybeing directly changed; and based, at least in part, on executing thepolicy, performing, by the policy engine, an action.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the policy comprises timing information for executingthe policy.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the analytical model isbased, at least in part, on observational data.
 4. The method of claim 3wherein the observational data comprise behavioral data associated withan entity.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the entity is selected fromthe group consisting of: a person, a plurality of persons, a corporateentity, a social network of persons, a group of persons defined by ashared contextual attribute, and an entity defined by a collection rule.6. The method of claim 4 wherein the behavioral data comprise an elementselected from the group consisting of: a preference explicitly stated bythe entity, a preference explicitly stated by something other than theentity, passive usage data, passive contextual data, and a statisticalaggregation of behavioral data.
 7. The method of claim 3 furthercomprising: updating the observational data to reflect the performanceof the action.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the set of rulesconsists of a single rule.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein an output ofthe analytical model is an input to a rule in the set of rules.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the analytical model is a part of an elementof the policy selected from the group consisting of: an eventspecification, an action specification, and a rule specification. 11.The method of claim 1 wherein the action is selected from the groupconsisting of: providing a recommendation, choosing a message to send,providing a prediction, and mapping a behavioral pattern.
 12. The methodof claim 1 wherein the action comprises altering the policy.
 13. Acomputing device configured for running a policy engine, the computingdevice comprising: a communications interface; and a processoroperatively connected to the communications interface and configuredfor: receiving a policy; executing, by the policy engine, the policy,wherein executing the policy comprises invoking an analytical model andinvoking a set of rules, the set of rules distinct from the analyticalmodel, wherein the analytical model is updated by collecting andprocessing recent innovations without the policy being directly changed;and based, at least in part, on executing the policy, performing anaction.
 14. The computing device of claim 13 wherein the computingdevice is selected from the group consisting of: a personal electronicsdevice, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, a tabletcomputer, a compute server, and a coordinated group of compute servers.15. The method of claim 1, wherein after the policy is executed, thepolicy is updated based on updates to the analytical model.
 16. Thecomputing device of claim 13, wherein after the policy is executed, thepolicy is updated based on updates to the analytical model.